About this blog

Welcome to Catch and Release, a blog featuring my original songs, art, and writing, with guest songwriters/artists every now and then.

How does it work?

Every other week I will post a new entry featuring an original song of mine (or perhaps someone else), along with a brief story, and art or a picture. Over time I will incrementally, one song at a time, be creating several different playlists or albums. It will be like gradually releasing >5 different albums all at the same time. All songs will be available for immediate streaming and “set-your-own-price” download.

Some of these songs will be fully produced and recorded in a professional studio. Some of them will be simple recordings; some will be home-recorded demos.

Why a Song Blog?

I have been writing songs since my teens, performing since my early twenties. I have also written and co-written songs/music for over eight plays with Western MA theater company, Piti Theatre. I’ve released two full-length CDs, plus two EPs with my former band, Plump. I still have A LOT of unreleased music, more all the time. Some of it is stuff that I’ve performed live, some of it is stuff that has never seen the light of day. I really want to get this music out into the world.

I feel ready to take a break from my previous model of investing a bunch of money in recording a fancy album and then trying to promote it on a shoestring budget, competing with other better-funded artists for media reviews, radio/online airplay, etc. I haven’t enjoyed that process in the past and I haven’t had much luck with it. Also, I’ve noticed that my original motivation for writing/recording music in the first place (it’s simple: I love it!) always gets highjacked by worrying about what people think, who has listened to it, what they’ve said, and which DJs/Stations have played it, etc.

What do I mean by Catch and Release?

“Catch and Release” is my motto for getting the tunes out there instead of holding on to them and waiting for “enough money to make a decent record”, the perfect moment, arrangement, etc. I like these songs and I want them to go out into the world and be heard and enjoyed. If they resonate, people can share them.

Also some other things this blog will probably end up being about:

My life. The “songwriting process”, specifically, MY songwriting process. The challenge of promoting one’s own art. The challenge of being an artist in today’s world, the challenge of being human in today’s world (not that either has EVER been easy at any time). Gender and race identity. Queerness. Food. Nature. Bodies of water. Having a body. Saving the planet. Feelings. Relationships. Healing. Balancing playfulness vs. SERIOUSNESS. And various random whimsical things.

(Sounds kind of like the menu at an all night diner)

Hooray!

Thanks for reading/listening! I hope this will be an interactive project. I welcome your thoughts and comments!

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